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Posts Tagged ‘Fantasy YA’

The Coven Princess by Lily Luchesi
Published by CHBB Publishing on 28th February 2018
354 pages
Reviewed by Yvonne Davies

Harley Torrance was orphaned when she was a young girl. Adopted from the age of 3, she had always been different from other children. She did not know how different until an eccentric visitor came calling and took her to a hidden village in Inverness. There she finds out who she is in the magical community and for the first time has people who love her.
I loved Harley straight from the prologue. Although she was bullied at school, just for being different, she never changed who she was and became a stronger person. Moving to Inverness she embraces her magical heritage and excelled at school. Being a genius at potions, she was still a target for bullies but she rose above them. The relationship with her hosts children helped her in the difficult times and their friendship was really strong, very similar to the friendship in books like the Famous Five.
Running through the story was battle between good and evil and the search for Harley’s dad. Whilst I was hoping for a certain character to be her dad, when it was revealed was let out a cheer.
The story draws you in, the characters come to life as you read this story making you want to carry on reading. Each character has an important role to play in the story and you will love or hate certain characters. The style of writing takes you on a journey spanning 4 years of Harley’s life making this a quick read as there was always something going on. The final scenes were full on so reading the epilogue brought tears to my eyes as it was so beautifully written.
If you are looking for something to fill the gap left by Harry Potter or other magical books then look no further. This a great YA read that will suit the older reader as well. I hope it will not be long for further books in this series.

Willow Woods Academy, Harvest Moon Coven’s institute of education has known its problems. 10 years before it was attacked by students of the Blood Moon Coven. Not aware of the history, Katarina(Kat) and Angelina(Angie) defy their parents and run away to enrol at Willow Woods Academy. Now trouble is brewing, will history repeat itself.
Kat and Angelina were BFFs and in most friendships, you always get the one who knows best. Angie was the headstrong one, the friend who knows what’s best. Kat went with the flow, not wanting to upset anyone and would see the good in people. But this relationship worked, you could feel the love for each other. Whilst they had a strong friendship, there was the odd disagreement, and whilst reading this story, I had the sense that there will be more major disagreements as the series continues.
Just like any school, Willow Woods had all the same group of students, “It” girls, smart ones and even the slightly strange and I hope I get to know these characters more as the series continues. Having 4 houses with a magical theme, helps you distinguish what powers the students have.
The story is descriptively written, and scenes can be instantly imagined. Knowing both author’s work, I could not tell who wrote what as the story flowed seamlessly. The school and the student’s past were explained in detail, which helped tell the story.
This is a book for any age group who love magical stories. A good start to the series

This is a young adult fantasy book, probably more ‘female friendly’ than normal. So what do I, as a long in the tooth bloke with a penchant for Tolkien, Goerge R. R. Martin (nevermind my love of Tolstoy and Dostoyevski) have to say about this first time outing of Kristen Ciccarelli? On the whole, I loved it. It deserves to go in the main section of fantasy and to slug it out with the best of them.
The first line gets you straight in and tells you that this voice is fresh and bold. It’s what we need from up and coming authors. It starts off following a youngster in a way that reminded me of Raymond E. Feist’s Magician, and if it had continued that well I would have given this book 5 out of 5. If you want to think about how hard it is to be that good – Raymond E. Feist can’t always stay at that level of the game. While the first line is a corker and so is the first encounter, we soon find Asha having feelings for a young slave. It seemed a bit obvious to me and a bit strained to start with, but with time and space, Ciccarelli dusts herself down and lets the characters develop.
The result is a grand endeavour where prejudice and abuse are faced with passion and loyalty creating a tale where you care about the characters and the world they live in. And fear for them – and that’s not easy. I admit I’m a harsh critic, and I’m giving this 4 out of five because sometimes it felt a bit shaky and (being somewhat long in the tooth) not everything was new to me as it might be to a younger audience – but to get 4 stars is still an achievement. If I was marking out of ten, maybe I would have given a nine…
Maybe…
4 out of 5

Children Shouldn’t play with Dead Things (Dead Things Series Book 1) by Martina McAtee

Published 31st August 2015

510 pages

Reviewed by Yvonne Davies

Ember a young girl who loved being surrounded by the dead, whether it was hanging out at the cemetery or working in the local undertakers. Having a drunk as a dad made her into a bit of a loner, after her dad died she thought she was by herself, how wrong she was. Living in a veiled town are Tristin and Kai, twins with special powers. Rescuing Ember from a mysterious man (Mace) they realise that there is something bigger going on and to get through it, they will need a lot more help.

Even though related, Ember, Kai and Tristin were completely different. Ember was so used to being by herself, she lapped up any interest in her wellbeing. When she was introduced to the people Kai and Tristin lived with, she was really overwhelmed and when she started learning what she was she didn’t know who to trust. Kai was the joker in the family, on the outside he made a joke about most things, but this was more of a defence mechanism. Tristin was completely opposite to her brother, a moody teenager, was happier to punch the stuffing out of a punchbag and had an instant disliking to Ember. Whilst the story revolves around these three, the story relies on other characters as well. Mace, the mysterious man who attacked Ember, with his cocky attitude, and his bad boy image he reminded me of Spike (Buffy) and was the anti-hero of the story. Quinn, a human born to a magical family, he was the only one that understood Tristan and was the brains. Isa the Alpha and Rhys her brother were werewolves had always played an important role in Kai and Tristin’s lives and Isa really showed her authority when she found out about all the deceit in the pack.

This book had a lot going on, however as the author wrote it in 1st person POV and each chapter was clearly labelled with that 1st person, it was not confusing and helped the story flow. There were some great one liners usually from Kai and this just showed how comfortable he was with his family and his sexuality, the scenes between him and Rhys were sweet and you could feel their love for each other, even when they were at each other’s throats. As Ember became more comfortable with her powers, you get to find out more about the history of the town and the tragic circumstances that happened there. With Reapers, Banshees, Witches, Shifters and not just wolves and many more different supernatural beings this book has it all for paranormal lovers. A long book but as this is fast paced it was a quick read. An unexpected ending leads nicely into Dark Dreams and Dead Things.

All Darlya wanted to do was graduate, find out what creature she would shift into and hope that Kiernan, a guy in school who she has been crushing on forever would notice her. However, Daryla is a daydreamer and when she finds herself in trouble with the elders, there are only a few people she can trust. Can she escape with the ones she loves?

Darlya was a nice girl, even though she was pretty it was not important to her. She was constantly being bullied by the Gossip girls, especially Nessa who had a vendetta out for her for years. She was loyal friend and would protect anyone she cared for. She wasn’t perfect by any means, she struggled in school and had to learn to control her temper, but the one thing that made her different was that she was a daydreamer, it didn’t matter where she was or who she was talking too, her mind would just wander. Luckily for Darlya, her best friend, Kira was always watching out for her, making sure she did not draw attention to herself with her daydreaming and Kira being the fashion guru and party girl always made sure Darlya dressed for the occasion. Kira was feisty and her mouth did not have a filter, not afraid to speak her mind, she always said what she thought and did not care who she offended.

From the beginning the author set the scene and although I found it a slow start, the further I read, I soon came to realise that it was necessary to the story. The story’s pace mirrored Darlya’s journey which made feel as I was following her on journey. It was a pleasant change to read a shifter story that was not about wolves. The shifter’s involved were strong and dedicated. The descriptive way the author described these beings, you could imagine their vibrant colours and their size. The romance element running through this story was innocent and sweet, but played an important part to the story.

For a first book, this a good start to the author’s journey and whilst it ends on a slight cliff-hanger, I hope it won’t be long before I can carry on Darlya’s journey

Black Ruins Forest by Karen DuBose is live!

*Every decision and every move can either mean her death, or ultimate power.*